LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE – It takes a few minutes to find the right place. And even when you do spot the small sign for “Renaissance Academy” from the quiet side street off Foothill Boulevard, it’s not entirely clear which building the school is housed in.

But I was in a curious mood, so I kept going.

For years, I’d seen this “Renaissance Academy” in the box scores. It usually dominated the competition – to the tune of scores such as 120-35, or 92-47.

Then this season, I watched as this “Renaissance Academy” had risen up through the area rankings with impressive wins over traditional large-school powers like LaCanada and Reseda.

Who were these guys?

What was this place?

But at the moment, the most pressing question was, “Where was this place?”

I wandered a bit more, then called head coach Sid Cooke on his cell phone to see if I was in the wrong place. Just then, a recruiter from the University of Texas came around the corner. He was dressed in official school clothes and seemed to know exactly where he was going.

A minute later, a 6-foot-10 kid came down the stairs. And after him, a wiry 6-foot-8 kid, whom I later found out was just a sophomore.

Yep, this was the right place.

“We were kind of living anonymously for the first few years,” Cooke said. “But now, the college coaches are coming here all the time.”

Those who step foot inside the gym and watch Renaissance Academy practice a few minutes can see why.

The 6-foot-10 kid, junior center Anthony Stover, has already been offered by Stanford. The 6-foot-8 kid, sophomore swingman Deandre Daniels, should be able to choose from just about any school he wants by the time he’s a senior.

They all found their way to this tiny 65-student high school over the past few years. Some had come because a cousin or a sister or a friend had played for Cooke in the past and recommended him as a coach. Others had come to get away from the rougher areas of nearby Pasadena. Some just liked the small-school atmosphere and personal instruction in the classroom.

“I’d always wanted to go to a real big high school with thousands of people, where (there would) be thousands of fans at the games and the stands were always packed,” Stover said. “But I’d known Josh since I was 8 years old, Justin since I was 11, and I’d played with Hector (Harold) growing up. So when we were all talking about coming here, and we all liked it, we just said, `Why don’t we do this together?”‘

Cook, a three-time all-state player, was the first to give Renaissance a try.

As first impressions go, it wasn’t the most inspiring. He’d grown up in public schools and was used to basketball gyms being big, his teammates tall and the classrooms being crowded.

Renaissance Academy was none of that.

The basketball court was outdoors. Literally just a couple of old backboards on aslab of concrete with a chain-link fence around it.

Most of his new teammates had played basketball before, but a couple were still learning the rules.

“The first year, some of the players had never played before, so that took some getting used to,” Cook said, laughing. “They were more into skateboarding, I think.

“And that court. It wasn’t very fun when it was real hot outside. Plus, the fence is real close, so you were constantly slamming into it.”

But Cook hadn’t come to Renaissance Academy for basketball. He had AAU ball in the summers where he’d get seen by the right people. High school just needed to be a place where he could go, get his work done, keep his grades up, and get away from the fights and gangs and rough streets around South Pasadena.

But within two years, Renaissance became a lot more than that to Cook.

Stover enrolled late in his freshman year, Daniels moved into the area over the summer after relocating from Louisiana and Tatum took a huge leap forward in the offseason.

All of a sudden, Renaissance wasn’t just a good small school. It was an area power. This year, it’s gone 26-3, with two of the three losses coming to Marmonte League champion Simi Valley and Southern Section Division I-A finalist Etiwanda.

And if it can beat Price of Los Angeles this afternoon in the Southern California Div. V regional championship, Renaissance will be talked about as a state basketball powerhouse.

“We’ve all been playing together forever, and I think that’s part of the reason we’ve done so well,” said Stover. “It’s like family.”

Daniels learned that quickly. He’d been attending high school in Mandeville, La., but the area was so ravaged by the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, it was hard to live there. It was time for a fresh start.

He came to Renaissance Academy last September, knowing no one, hoping the name of the school would prove prophetic on a personal level.

“I didn’t say a word for like three days,” Daniels said. “But they made me feel real comfortable. Like family.”

Cooke couldn’t believe his good fortune.

“DeAndre literally just showed up. He dropped into our lap,” Cooke said. “But he’s really done well for us. And he’s going to get even better.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.